Blockchain in Retail

Blockchain in Retail

The Rising Star of Retail Digital Transformation

Over the past decade retail industry has undergone a transformative phase. Retailers have witnessed a monumental shift in the way customers look to engage with them. Brand loyalties have become fickle and longstanding business models have been disrupted. The shift in linear thinking has led to an influx of technologies.

But when it comes to blockchain, there seems to be some sort of a glitch. Its almost like the technology has rallied and taxied but is yet to take off. This delay in blockchain adoption can be attributed to many reasons, but lack of faith in the technology is definitely not one of them!

The complexity of blockchain technology may have deterred a few. But it is time to get over the apprehensions and leverage blockchain for better business growth.

Here are 5 reasons why we believe retailers should implement blockchain solutions now.

Track Products Through Their Lifecycle

Ask any retailer what they value the most in their business and they would promptly say ‘customer trust’. While this trust is hard to gain, it can be easily broken. Especially in the food and beverages industry or convenience stores where the promise of a fresh product matters a great deal.

Blockchain solutions can allow customers to track their food and consumable products right from the source. Customers can know where the product is being sourced from and how much time it has taken to reach them. This transparency of product lifecycle can strengthen the trust that customers pose in their retailers.

It can also help with food and safety wherein outbreak of any viral epidemic can be easily tracked to a certain batch of food. This batch can then be removed from circulation to prevent any further episodes.

Prevent Counterfeiting of Products

If one looks at the history of blockchain then it was initially developed to mitigate frauds – especially with the digital currency. Retailers can take a leaf of learning from this and use it to address the issue of counterfeit products.

Just imagine, an art dealer or a diamond house being able to track their products as they exchange hands. This allows them to ensure that customers always get the most authentic product. This also goes a long way in dealing with the problem of counterfeit products that often damage the reputation of these brands.

So, all in all, blockchain solutions can help retailers prevent frauds.

Automate Key Processes

It need not be mentioned how blockchain can allow retailers to accept payments in cryptocurrencies. But blockchain can further help automate key business processes. It can make supply chains and inventory management more transparent. Additionally, it can also automate the more data dependent backend tasks of HR and payroll management, staff attendance management, etc. Blockchain solutions can automate how the data is captured and used to make sure the results are more accurate and delivered faster.

The automation driven by blockchain can further allow key company resources to be diverted and used in crucial functions of customer service, sales, innovation, etc.

Improve Loyalty Points Redemption

One of the major problems that retailers face today is customer retention. It is quite easy to lose customers to competition. The brand switch rate of major retailers has gone up and the loyalty programs are failing to hold on to customers.

One of the reasons why loyalty programs are failing is because customers end up storing loyalty points from different programs in different wallets. This makes it difficult for them to redeem them in a meaningful way.

With blockchain, you can allow your customers to maintain all their loyalty points in a single wallet on real-time basis. These points can then be redeemed the way they want. This would also make loyalty programs flexible which is the need of the hour!

Compliance to Consumer Data Law

Data and privacy are extremely crucial for any industry. The latest GDPR regulations and different consumer privacy protection mandates insist on zero tolerance with respect to privacy breach. The cost of non-compliance with these regulations can give any retailer sleepless nights. But blockchain can help.

Blockchain can help retailers manage their customers’ digital identity through centralized database. The technology can also assist in creating smart contracts which carefully restrict the access and usage of customer data. These contracts can impose restrictions on how customer data is used by the party having access to it.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology has real potential to elevate a retail enterprise to a whole another level. However, one needs a strategic vision and in-depth understanding of the technology before investing in it.

We work with retail leaders who are interested in exploring use of blockchain for their business growth. We help them identify what solutions they need, how to implement them, and how to migrate processes to blockchain in a seamless manner. We work with them as they go through the process of blockchain adoption, addressing the challenges, and realigning existing IT to accommodate the new technology.

To know how you can make blockchain an integral part of your digital transformation, contact us today. Talk to our blockchain experts today to know more about blockchain solutions specifically for retail industry.